Shizumu Haga
Shizumu Haga (沈む葉が, Haga Shizumu) is the Flower Girl (花売り娘, Hanauri Musume) of Black Crown, hailed as the Tailor of the Heavens (天の裁縫師, Ten no Saihōshi) within the circle. She is the spiritual daughter of Seiōbo, wielder of the legendary blade and a of . Supposedly, she is also the one who fought and killed Seigetsu Hōzuki. Appearance Personality History Contrary to her appearance, Shizumu is in fact not a human being. During the various rituals Seiōbo performed during her lifetime, a small excess of was constantly shed from both her and her targets, compiling and eventually forming into a sentient, nameless being. It was Seiōbo's unfulfilled desire to have children that influenced this entity's appearance. Seiōbo was ashamed of the little girl, as she was an unnatural being that only existed because her feelings had meddled with the power she had sworn never to abuse. She feared 's possessor would catch word of this development and thus decided to kill the being she had created before it would be discovered. However, the little girl was permeated with the energy and the power of a hundred persons, including Seiōbo herself, and the guide failed to destroy what she had unwillingly created. It escaped, nameless and betrayed by her own mother, wandering the shinobi countries aimlessly. Seiōbo pursued her for years, as the little girl caused havoc and destruction, unable to control the powers she had been born with. However, one day the little girl disappeared, no longer giving away any trace of her existence. Seiōbo believed that her existence might have been too unstable to maintain itself beyond said point and returned to her home, believing her mistake had erased itself. As it turned out, the little girl had been taken in by Black Crown. She was guided towards the Oracle, who adopted her and gave her the name Shizumu Haga, becoming more of a mother than Seiōbo had ever intended to be. Shizumu was raised by Kurozome's philosophy and soon became its most devout follower and one of the Black Crown's strongest assets. However, although her appearance didn't change, her mind did, and after several years she suddenly began to stray from Kurozome's ways, never abandoning it but soon leaving the top of Black Crown. She began to act on her own accord, never going against the organization's ways but sometimes deviating quite a bit. This sudden rebellion did not seem to upset the leader and since no one else was strong enough to stand up to the little girl, she was left to do as she pleased. Synopsis Equipment Eyepatch: Shizumu bears a purple eyepatch shaped in the "休" kanji, being the sign of Kurozome. This eyepatch acts both as a limiter to her and a stabilizer of her physical form. Because of the nature of Shizumu's being, her body is in constant danger of being overwhelmed by the immense amount of purified chakra she embodies. To prevent her from destroying her environment with this as well as soothing the task of constantly keeping up her physical appearance, she acquired this eyepatch from within the Black Crown. When the eyepatch comes off, unlike during the earliest stages of her life where she posed a constant threat to her surroundings, Shizumu simply has to direct more effort to keeping her power in check as well as keeping her body stable. This limits her focus on other matters, such as battle and during prolonged exposure can even cause her to regress into her primordial state of being: a destructive, ruthless force of nature. (縫い針, Sewing Needle); originally one of the swords of the , Shizumu stole the sword from within with the aid of Black Crown. The blade itself greatly resembles a large needle, with a long length of thin -mirroring thread, tied to the eye located at the base of its hilt. In the elder days, it was known as the "longsword" (長刀, chōtō) of its ability to "pierce all and stitch them together". However, Shizumu "broke the essence of the blade", estranging it from its former self and the other six swords and turning it into a "soulsword" (精刀, seitō). The physical form remains unaltered, but the blade has an excessive amount of coursing through it, so much that anyone below Shizumu's caliber is unable to wield it. This transformation granted Nuibari a statute similar to the wielded by the . In addition to preserving its earlier abilities, Nuibari can influence the soul of anything it touches directly. When doing so, it threats the soul as if it were any other physical object, allowing the user to pierce, cut or stitch it without any resistance, as the soul does not have any kind of defense against such practices. Because the soul resides within the body, it is only logical that the distance between the user and their target allows physical contact before the metaphysical variant can be established. However, because Shizumu, unlike the Death God, is in possession of a soul of her own, this practice is not without risk. When meddling with another's, she also exposes her own spirit, making her more susceptible to assaults. Though she has developed countermeasures, a sufficiently proficient opponent might still find a way to exploit this. For these reasons, Shizumu generally relies on the physical capabilities of Nuibari, which she also shown to utilize to great effects. By using the sharp wire attached to the blade as a whip, she can hold back opponents without even resorting to the blade itself. Abilities Innate Abilities Shizumu's inhuman status allows her to interact with the world around her on a level far surpassing most shinobi. While the human body acts as a container for the and remains separate from the soul, there is no such definite line between Shizumu's physical and metaphysical being. As such, she is capable of influencing others on both of these levels, even with objects that do not inherently possess this ability. During her confrontation with Seigetsu Hōzuki, Shizumu was shown to directly injure Seigetsu's soul with when he had made his body to her attacks. There is no need for her to lay out in which manner she wishes to affect her opponent - if she wishes to Shizumu can simultaneously pierce their skin and their spirit. She can pass this trait of hers on to others, although it is generally not very beneficial to them. By "sewing" a concrete part of the body to that person's soul, any damage done to the former results in irreversible, grievous damage to his very being, even if the physical injury is minor. Shizumu cannot actually "die". Her body can only endure as much damage as any human's, but in the case of her actually perishing, her own energy will eventually resurrect her and revive both her body and her soul. This entire process takes about two weeks, during which Shizumu's "corpse" glows with an intense yellow energy that eats away at any organism that approaches it. According to her mother, Shizumu most resembles the more than any other being, with the exception that she also possesses a physical form. As such, she surmises that only he or another resident of the formless realm might be able to truly vanquish Shizumu. Ninjutsu Space-Time Ninjutsu Kenjutsu In battle, Shizumu wields the legendary blade , which she stole from the vaults with the help of various Black Crown members. Despite having never received training or knowing anything about swordsmanship, Shizumu is able to easily beat any opponent she comes across. This should not be attributed to superior skill or intelligence, instead it is merely because of the fact that Shizumu has the ability to completely ignore all physical constructs when making her attack and cut the soul of her target directly, killing them instantly in most cases. Even barriers shaped by have no affect on the swing of her blade. Summit of the Shadows: Long Awaited Reunion#Day Five: Beginning of the End It is not possible to block or parry Shizumu's strikes except with spiritual weapons, such as the Death God's or the . In the latter's case, it was only because of its mystic status, as the generic is sliced through as effortlessly as any other chakra-based construct. References Trivia *Both in appearance, mannerisms as well as her tailor theme, Shizumu was inspired by Nui Harime. *Her name comes from the japanese proverb ishi ga nagarete kono wa ga shizumu (石が流れて木の葉が沈む; Literally meaning "rocks will flow and leaves will sink"), meaning that there are exceptions to every rule. This alludes both to Kurozome as well as Shizumu's position within the organisation.